Tumnus' Faith
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Tumnus' faith is challenged as he is brought before the Witch


Author's Note: There's a story somewhere in the Old Testament where God gets mad at the Hebrews for something, so he decides to allow an evil king to take over for a while to make them suffer. In one the scenarios, the king tortures seven sons and their mother to death for refusing to eat pork and renounce God. That's pretty much where I got the idea for this. That and also the fact that the new Narnia film is going to have an extra scene showing Tumnus in Jadis' dungeon.

On with the story.

The dungeons of the White Witch were not as cold as Tumnus had expected them to be. The only thing the ice caused was his breath to become visible and his hands and ears to become numb at times.

Of course there were also the chains on his wrists and around his throat; these were made out of ice that refused to break.

The cells were small and made out of the same material as the chains, with a small window in the door blocked by iron bars.

A sob caught his attention and Tumnus tilted his head to one side to listen. A Talking kangaroo was trying to comfort her Joey, and she was failing at it. Slowly Tumnus got to his hooves and he walked up to the door, hugging himself to try and stay warm. Closing his eyes, Tumnus imagined that he was home and playing the flute his father had left him. He began to whistle the tune and soon the Joey fell silent.

When he was done, Tumnus sat back down and he sighed as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

In his dream he was with the Daughter of Eve Lucy, and they were dancing and singing with other Fauns and Dryads as Bacchus touched the river and turned the water into sweet red wine.

He and Lucy were about to share a cup of the wine when Tumnus was woken up by screams.

Standing up, he looked through his window and saw the kangaroo and her baby being dragged out of their cell by wolves of the secret police. The kangaroo was trying to fight back, lashing out with her fists but she was soon overtaken and brought upstairs.

Seeing that he was next to go; Tumnus sat back down and acted as if he had not heard the fighting and screaming from two cell blocks down. His door was opened and a grizzled and battle scarred black wolf came in with his teeth bared.

"Try and fight me!" he snarled. "I do so wish you would. I have not tasted Faun flesh in such a long time you know."

"I'm not going to fight you." Tumnus said simply. The wolf growled and Tumnus merely looked at him. "The White Witch would be quite annoyed with you if I was harmed." He pointed out, remembering Maugrim specifically telling his wolves not to bite the Faun at the time of his arrest.

"That may be true, but you could always get hurt while being subdued! Now start moving, Faun." The wolf snarled, knowing that Tumnus was right about not harming him. As they walked the wolf growled to itself, and occasionally nipped at Tumnus' heels.

Before Tumnus was brought into Jadis' throne room, he was forced to watch as three Dwarves dragged out a new statue; the kangaroo had crouched over her baby to try and protect him, but she had failed and now both were stone.

"Move, Faun!"

Tumnus was shoved into the room and with a clattering of chains he fell to his hands and knees. He bowed his head instinctively, not wishing to look into Jadis' eyes.

"I had such high hopes for you, Tumnus." He looked up ever so slightly, and he saw Jadis sitting on her ice throne, a scepter made out of ice and topped with a crystal resting in her lap. On a table beside her there rested a knife of stone and a wand; the weapons she was known most for using.

"What I don't understand is why you would forsake me for a Daughter of Eve." She continued calmly, smiling sweetly at him. Slowly she got to her feet, and she walked up to him. "Did you fall in love with her? Is that what happened?"

Tumnus was silent, not out of fear but out of confusion. The confusion was caused by a kind of warmth that he felt growing inside of him, and a slight smile touched his lips.

"Answer Her Majesty, scum!" Maugrim snarled.

"She showed me the truth." Tumnus said softly.

"Truth? But I am the truth, Tumnus." Jadis pointed out gently. "I always have and I always will be the truth."

"No, you're not."

The room was silent for a few moments and then Maugrim started to growl and bare his teeth at Tumnus.

"Shall I tear out his lying throat?" Jadis laughed and shook her head, looking down at Tumnus with a sad look; despite the fact that her eyes burned with rage.

"You've become insane. Of course I'm the truth." She said.

"Aslan is the truth." Tumnus said. "I turned my back on him and now I am being punished for it, but I know that he will not stay angry for long. Aslan has always been the truth and you are nothing but lies!"

The only change in Jadis' face was her lip tilted slightly to the right in a tiny snarl.

"Now you have committed heresy as well as treachery." She said softly.

"I do not speak heresy." Tumnus said, and he looked up at her, his eyes unafraid of her powers anymore. "I speak the truth. I speak of the lion Aslan!" Jadis turned her back to Tumnus and she leaned down to whisper with Maugrim and her assistant Dwarf Ginarrbrik. They spoke for a few minutes before she turned back to Tumnus, her smile becoming a real one now, not the false one she had been wearing before. This one was filled with evil, and her teeth were showing like a wolf baring their fangs.

"I will give a few chances to renounce the false lion Aslan." She said calmly as Ginarrbrik drew a blade that he kept in his belt.

"That will not happen." Tumnus said simply. Jadis waved a hand in the air, and as she went back to her throne to sit; Tumnus screamed as Ginarrbrik cut off his legs from the knees down. His tail was also removed, and Jadis placed it around her neck like a scarf.

"Will you change your mind now, Tumnus?" Jadis asked as she placed his severed legs on her table beside the blade and wand.

"No." Tumnus said; squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears.

"Horns."

Ginarrbrik struck off the horns from Tumnus' head and placed them beside the legs.

"Where is your Aslan?" Jadis asked calmly, picking up a horn and looking it over. "Why does he not come to help you?"

"He may not be here now, but he will give my legs and horns back to me when he returns to destroy you!" Tumnus countered.

"Will he now? Well I hope he returns your hands as well. Ginarrbrik?" Jadis watched with a smirk as Tumnus' hands were removed just above the wrist. Seeing the amount of blood on the floor she sighed softly and signaled to Maugrim, who ran up and started to lap up the blood on the floor, wagging his tail excitedly.

Tumnus was a mess on the floor, the bloody stubs that once had hands were hugged tightly against his chest, and tears flowed down his cheeks.

But the warmth inside of him remained, and he refused to give up.

"Well?"

"The Prophecy is coming true!" Tumnus shouted. He opened his eyes and he glared at Jadis. "The Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve will sit down in the four thrones and end your rule!"

"His eyes are lovely." Jadis signaled calmly. "Give them to me whole please."

Black blood was soon flowing down Tumnus' cheeks, his eyes now resting in Jadis' hands.

"What do you say now? I can give you back your limbs if you wish. Just renounce Aslan." She said simply.

"Aslan will return and give my limbs and eyes back to me." Tumnus gasped softly.

"I don't think he can hear me."

Ginarrbrik and Maugrim played around with Tumnus' severed ears, speaking into them as if they were a kind of phone.

"Can you hear me?" Maugrim laughed as Ginarrbrik pressed up the ear to his own. "Are you there?"

"Aslan will strike you down!" Tumnus screamed, unable to hear himself anymore. Jadis grew bored with playing with him, and she herself cut out his tongue and then turned him into stone, freezing him in such a pitiful position and helplessness.

"Bag these up." She said with a smile. "I wish to keep these as a souvenir."

"Aslan! Aslan! I've found Mr. Tumnus. Oh, do come quick." Lucy looked down at her friend, and tears came to her eyes at the sight of him. Although she could not see the blood, she could guess by the way that he looked that bad things had happened to him before he was turned to stone.

As Aslan and the others arrived, Lucy pointed down at Tumnus, and she then burst into tears, falling into Susan's arms.

"It will be all right, Lucy." Susan assured her gently. "Aslan can fix him, can't you?"

Aslan looked down at the little Faun and he sighed softly, tilting his head to one side slightly.

"He is missing limbs." He said gently. "The Witch has them in her room and someone must go and retrieve them."

"I'm on it!" a Centaur said, and with a clattering of hooves was on his way.

"You will make him as good as new won't you, Aslan?" Lucy asked. Aslan looked down at her with his gentle eyes, and he gave her a lion kiss on her brow.

"All that should be will be." He said simply as the Centaur returned. He was holding out a bag and he couldn't help but drop it on the ground, disgusted at the contents inside. "Go outside." Aslan told Susan and Lucy gently. "I will come out shortly."

Susan nodded and started to leave, but Lucy stayed, looking up at Aslan bravely.

"I'm staying."

"Daughter of Eve…"

"He was my first friend here." Lucy said. "I'm staying with him." Aslan smiled faintly and he bowed his head in consent. He then turned to the bag and to what must be done.

He opened the bag lightly with his claws, and Lucy and the others around him couldn't help but gasp softly in horror at the cruelty of the Witch. He took Tumnus' tongue and he held it up to his ear, closing his eyes and concentrating.

"What is he doing?" Lucy whispered to a Centaur.

"He's listening."

"To what?"

"To the last words your friend said before his tongue was removed." The Centaur explained.

Aslan nodded a bit to himself, and he placed the tongue back with the other limbs. Taking a deep breath, he breathed upon the parts and made them vanish. He then breathed on Tumnus, and slowly the stone melted away, showing that his limbs were back once more.

For a moment Tumnus only sat there, blinking as he looked around, and when he saw Lucy he smiled and she dove into his arms and the two hugged each other tightly. Tumnus looked over at Aslan and he bowed his head slightly to the lion, who only smiled and nodded to him.

"Come," Aslan said, turning around and heading out the doors, "We have a war to win."


End file.
